Harlan Vaughn's Blog, page 29

The Best 2X Card for Non-Bonus Spending Now Has a 10,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus

To start, the Blue Business Plus Amex is a small business card. But Amex is known to be generous with small business card approvals, so long as you have a for-profit venture, or are aiming to make a profit.

This card got instant “workhorse” classification. And it’s been a stalwart companion in my wallet since the day I got it.

MVP status, this one

When it launched in Summer 2017, there was a brief sign-up bonus for 20,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. But when that faded, it went to nothing.

Now a sign-up offer of 10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points is available. But I think this card is good enough to get even without a bonus!

About the Blue Business Plus Amex

Link: Blue Business Plus Amex – learn more here

The strength of this card is in its simplicity. You get 2X Amex Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 you spend per calendar year on the card. So it’s a great card for non-bonus spending – up to an extra 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards points per year.

There’s no annual fee – so it’s free to keep forever. Because it’s a small business card, it won’t show on your personal credit report – and therefore has no bearing on your Chase 5/24 status. And for that same reason, you need to have some quantifiable business income. But again, Amex is, in my experience, lax about this – as long as you can show something.

If you want to pick it up now, you can earn 10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months account opening.

Offer details

I jumped on this card the second it came out. And use it for expenses that would earn 1 point per $1 on other cards (non-bonus categories).

I also consider it to be better than a 2% cashback card. That’s because I value each point at 2 cents each. So it’s like getting 4% back (or more!) after I transfer the points to an Amex travel partner.

You can transfer Amex points to any of these 16 airlines, with many at a 1:1 ratio

This card will keep all your Amex Membership Rewards points alive should you choose to cancel another one that has a big fee, like the Amex Platinum Card ($550 annual fee) or Amex Premier Rewards Gold ($195 annual fee).

There’s also a quite long period with 0% APR – 15 months. Which could be good to help pay down some debt. Or float a charge for a sec.

Best uses of Amex Membership Rewards points

Link: Amex travel transfer partners

The best transfer partners are:

British Airways – Hard to beat 7,500 points for short-haul coach flights under 1,151 miles. Those are some of the most expensive flights!
Delta – When they have an award flash sale, you can actually get a good deal, as low as 5,000 miles each way. The points transfer instantly, so you can literally transfer them the second you find something good
Flying Blue – 15,000 miles for a one-way to Hawaii from anywhere in the mainland US is hard to beat, although they are updating their award chart soon. Hope this one sticks around!
Etihad – You can still book American Airlines awards at low prices. I booked an award on Brussels Airlines and had no issues doing so with a phone call
Singapore – Fly round-trip in coach on United within North America for 25,000 miles. Or fly to Hawaii and back for 35,000 miles. I’ve also booked this award – amazing deal

Use the points you earn with the Blue Business Plus Amex to fly to Hawaii with Flying Blue, Singapore, or even Delta where there’s a promotion

Having a card that adds to the stash at a 2X rate with no annual fee is pretty sweet. I love watching the rewards roll in for purchases that ordinarily don’t earn bonus points.

My experience getting the Blue Business Plus Amex

I didn’t get a hard pull when I applied. Which is awesome. This is my 6th Amex credit card – so I may be at my limit (my others are SPG personal and biz, Hilton Surpass, and 2 no AF Hilton).

Instant approval!

I was instantly approved… with a $2,000 credit limit, which isn’t much.

Luckily, this card has a feature where you can “spend above your credit limit.”

Seems fair

I checked what would happen for a $5,000 charge, and they said no prob, bob. That’s good, because my Airbnb rents are more than $2,000 a month (which I can still pay with Plastiq). The hitch is, you must pay off the amount above your credit limit at the end of each billing cycle. Also not a problem – I do that anyway.

I could probably ask Amex to shift my credit lines around. But the application process was a total breeze.

Bottom line

Blue Business Plus Amex – learn more here
Starwood small business Amex – learn more here
Hilton small business Amex – learn more here

Amex is killing it with small business card offers right now. The Blue Business Plus is remarkable simply because it has one at all. But it’s such a trusty steed, I think it’s worth getting even without one. So earning 10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points is gravy.

Before you apply, consider the Starwood small business Amex has a best-ever offer of 35,000 Starwood points after meeting the minimum spending (it’s $7,000 in the first 3 months!). That offer expires on March 28th, 2018. I reviewed the card here. You can NOT earn the bonus on this version of the card if you’ve ever had the card before.

Finally, there’s the brand new Hilton small business Amex. You can earn 75,000 Hilton points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. And another 25,000 Hilton points when you spend $1,000 more in the first 6 months – for a total of 100,000 Hilton points. And the spending is more manageable.

NONE of these cards count toward your Chase 5/24 status and all are excellent sign-up offers. I have 2 out of the 3 and might go for that new Hilton card to boost my Hilton points balance. All are worth considering, depending on your travel goals.

Which one of these offers do you think is best? If you have the Blue Business Plus Amex, do you like it as much as I do? 

OUT AND OUT - Investing. Positivity. Oh, and travel.

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Plastiq for Mortgage Payments Is Dead, Mostly

Also see: 

It Lives! 3X ThankYou Points on Plastiq Payments With Citi AT&T Access More Card

Thanks to readers Frank, Amar, and Ken for sharing experiences with their Citi AT&T Access More cards only earning 1X points for mortgage payments via Plastiq this month.

My statement just closed, too. And I can confirm: I only got 1X for last month’s mortgage payment. 

Announcing Out for Miles: A Card Advisory Service for Newbies

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. And I finally did it. Here’s Out for Miles. I’ll help you choose which cards to start with, tailored to your travel goals and preferred travel style.

Ring, ring. It’s Out for Miles

This Thursday 3/15: Join Us at the Frequent Flyer Meetup in Dallas!

It’s almost here!

In 3 days, this Thursday, 3/15 @ 6pm, please join 14 of us at the Out for Miles – Dallas points & miles/frequent flyer meetup!

So far, there are 54 peeps in the Meetup group. And 14 RSVP’d to the event this week! So it should be a nice crowd.

Grab a beer at this big yet cozy brewery in the Dallas Design District

I went to the venue last week to try a craft brew. And it was delish! The folks there are so welcoming. It should be a fun time to connect and mingle.

Here are the details.

What: Out for Miles – Dallas Meetup
When: Thursday, March 15th, 2018, from 6pm to 8:30pm
Where: Pegasus City Brewery, 2722 Vantage Street (at Wycliff Ave), Dallas – Google Map directions and location
Links: Join the group and RSVP on Meetup or RSVP on Facebook

Feel free to add your attendance via the links above. Or simply show up!

This place doesn’t serve food, but they don’t mind if you bring your own or have something delivered. I’ll try to have snacks brought in. There are also plenty of restaurants within a 5-minute drive.

See you in a few days!

OUT AND OUT - Investing. Positivity. Oh, and travel.